Two days after Gov. Chris Christie sought to strike a bond with caucus goers in Iowa, the New Jersey Republican launched a long anticipated political action committee that will help him travel the country and try to sell his Republican brand ahead of the next presidential election.
Titled Leadership Matters for America, the committee’s papers were filed Friday with the Federal Election Commission, a source close to Christie confirmed. The Wall Street Journal first reported the story early Monday morning.
“Leadership matters if we are going to have elected officials who work each and every day so that our government doesn’t stand in the way of opportunity, but creates the opportunity for each and every citizen to succeed,” reads the mission statement on the group’s website.
The group will help Christie compete not only in the public arena, but in the behind-the-scenes primary playing out before wealthy donors. While no Republican has officially announced a presidential bid, Christie has been fighting for relevancy as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and 2012 GOP nominee Mitt Romney soak up all the oxygen among the establishment Republican donor class.
About a dozen staffers are already assembled to help man Christie’s PAC, including Phil Cox, the outgoing executive director of the Republican Governors Association, who’s serving as the PAC’s senior adviser and is widely considered a potential campaign manager.
At a major conservative gathering in Des Moines on Saturday, Christie shared the spotlight with a host of other potential candidates and tried to dismiss criticism that says his “Jersey guy” style won’t play well in other states.
“Let me ask you if I was too blunt, too direct, too loud and too New Jersey for Iowa then why do you people keep inviting me back?” he said, adding that he’s been to the first-in-the-nation caucus state 11 times since becoming governor.
“And even more importantly if the values I’m fighting for every day in New Jersey and across this country are not consistent with your values why would I come back? I wouldn’t,” he continued. “I do because are values are consistent and we’re fighting together to make this a better country.”
He’s set to return to Iowa on Feb. 9 for an event in Dallas County.